Fairlight Books swoops for debut novel from 'powerful' writer Huiting

Fairlight Books has swooped for Red Dust, White Snow, a literary sci-fi debut from Pan Huiting. 

Sarah Shaw, assistant editor, acquired world rights, including audio, directly from the author. The book will be published in August 2023. 

Red Dust, White Snow is a described as a powerful and imaginative novel set in a futuristic Singapore which follows an office worker who, "disillusioned with her mundane reality, becomes increasingly obsessed with a fantasy world created especially for her". 

The synopsis reads: "When an office worker receives a mysterious device promising to transport her to a parallel universe, she assumes it is just another marketing stunt. That night, she visits a fantastical place in her dreams; on waking she returns to her normal life, only to return to the same dream the following night.

"At first, she finds the ongoing dreams bizarre, but the more time she spends in the dream world, the less she wants to wake up. Yet as her fantasy begins to encroach on her waking life, dream and reality collide with drastic consequences."

Shaw said: "Pan Huiting’s writing struck me from the first page as she combines dystopian themes with a keen insight into modern humanity. She skilfully explores highly relevant issues surrounding surveillance and privacy, contemporary isolation and environmental neglect in an increasingly digital world. In this stunning debut, Huiting is establishing herself as a powerful newcomer to the speculative fiction genre."